ENG vs SL Review: Sri Lanka rubs salt into England’s wounds

In the 24th match of the 2023 ODI World Cup, Sri Lanka and England clashed at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and the defending champions sunk to their fourth loss in the tournament.

England won the toss and elected to bat first and the match started off promisingly for England, with Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow finding the boundary easily in the early overs. It seemed like we were in for another high-scoring contest at the venue as England raced to 39/0 in the first five overs, but the next five overs yielded only 20.

Angelo Mathews struck early, dismissing Malan, while an uncharacteristic run-out claimed Joe Root. This marked the beginning of a batting collapse that dismantled England’s innings. The pitch at Chinnaswamy proved to be tricky, with a two-paced nature that favoured Sri Lanka. England’s aggressive approach failed to adapt to the challenging conditions, and despite getting starts, their top batters could not capitalise on them.

Ben Stokes, in particular, struggled during his 73-ball stay, managing only 43. The Sri Lankan bowlers, apart from Dilshan Madushanka, displayed exceptional control and exploited the conditions effectively. Sri Lanka’s bowlers and fielders maintained their intensity throughout and bowled out England for just 156 runs.

Chasing the target, Sri Lanka also lost two early wickets. The in-form Kusal Mendis and Kusal Perera were dismissed cheaply. However, Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama came together and stitched a brilliant partnership to comfortably take their team to victory without any further hiccups. Both batters remained not out, with Nissanka scoring 77 runs with seven fours and two sixes. While the right-handed batter Samarawickrama scored 65 runs.

Top Performers of the Match

Pathum Nissanka (77 of 83)

Nissanka showcased great skills after his team lost two early wickets in the chase. He displayed his batting class and played a pretty risk-free cricket to help his team to get their second victory. He scored 77 with seven fours and two sixes.

Lahiru Kumara (3/35, 7 overs)

Lahiru Kumara bowled with great pace and intensity that troubled the English batters throughout the match. He took three important wickets, including those of Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone, and Ben Stokes, to ensure that the defending champions did not post a big score on the board.

What next?

Going ahead, England will play India on October 29. While Sri Lanka will take on Afghanistan on October 30.